Nomadland

Jessica Bruder

After I watched the movie, I felt compelled to read the book. For those who have taken the same route, this is not Fern’s story, she is a fictional character. But she does make a great representative for the nonfictional reality of those who have taken a less travelled road. 

There are two alternate narratives at play – in one, the economics of the times forces people into living a nomad life in RVs and vans. In the other, people choose to live a life of freedom without being tethered to a place. There is deep poignancy in both. While a big culprit is indeed the Great Recession, I found many of the origin stories startling. One wrong move or a chance incident causing a drastic change in lifestyle – a messy divorce, a bad investment, a health condition (self or family). When groceries, utilities, medicines, credit card debts and so on are done, and nothing is left, you start to really think about rent and sometimes choose to be house-less before you become homeless. 

People with master’s degrees who have held down white-collar jobs, travelled internationally, owned million-dollar properties, now forced to do labor at beet harvests in below-freezing temperatures, made to work overtime in the U.S. Forest Service in part-time jobs without overtime pay, or do mind-numbing work at Amazon warehouses. In all cases body-breaking, at an age when the body is on its downward trajectory. And such is corporate greed that they’d rather have an ambulance waiting outside for the inevitable trips to the hospital than improve working conditions. Intelligent people, who get slotted in roles far below what they are capable of. A globe-trotting software executive now working five days a week at an Amazon warehouse until just before dawn, on overtime shifts lasting 12 hours, with half an hour for lunch and two fifteen minute breaks. In his old life, he had spent $100000 a year, now he has learned to get by with $75 a week. People who have to take 4 ibuprofens for the pain before heading to work! This is the behind-the-scenes of Cyber Monday. 

What goes on in the minds of those who have taken this path – their relationships with family and the communities they form, their own thoughts of how they are spending their lives, their sense of identity, their future? They don’t want to be thought of as poor and whining, there is pride and sense of agency. And many of them may not choose to go back to their earlier lives. But I wonder. 

Through many unforgettable people – poets and bloggers and artists and ordinary folks – Jessica Bruder brings this all to life. She hasn’t parachuted into the story at different points. She has gone through the steep learning curve, endured and survived, had an ‘unbeetable experience’, worked in the Amazon warehouse, and lived this life for three years in Halen, her rig. Thanks to that, this isn’t just casual reporting. It’s written with inquisitiveness, understanding and empathy, and is a must-read because there is a life that’s outside of the American Dream, which offers lessons to all of humanity. 

Notes
Michael Reynolds “We have to find secure sustenance for people that is not subject to the monster called the economy. The economy is a game. This game should be about nonessential things (motorcycles, computers, televisions). A person feeding their family, staying alive, having shelter…that should not be subject to an economy.”
“Which parts of this life are you willing to give up so you can keep on living?”